Monday, March 2, 2009

"If you accept, you shall be given the first of thirty-nine clues. These clues will lead you to a secret, which, should you find it, will make you the most powerful, influential human beings on the planet. You will realize the destiny of the Cahill family." - The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

I'm hooked, so completely hooked. The popular 39 Clues series now has another fan after I read book 1: The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones. Meant for middle school children ages 8-12+, the series reminds me of an interactive The Da Vinci Code for kids, sans religion. The multi-media adventure series combines 10 books, an online game, collectible cards and cash prizes in a way sure to excite even the most reluctant readers. (You must read the books in order to fully participate in the online game. However, the book series can be read and enjoyed without playing the online game.)

Power, riches, codes, exotic destinations, and famous individuals. The members Cahill family don't fully realize the history of their family lineage until the matriarch of their family, Grace, dies. After an unusual reading of her will, they must choose between a million dollars or a dangerous, mysterious race that will send them all across the world to discover the Cahill family secret. The plot centers around orphan siblings, Dan (age 11) and Amy (age 14) as they try to find and decode the 39 clues before their evil, sneaky relatives beat them to it. In The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones - Book 1 they follow messages involving their ancestor Benjamin Franklin, end up in Paris and try to discover the first of many clues.

The exciting adventure captivated me and left me wishing I could read the entire series immediately. What kind of secret could make one the most powerful person on the planet? I must admit, I'm intrigued. I've heard many kids find the series just as fascinating. One fellow blogger sent this response via twitter, "My youngest, 13 yo boy loves those books and the game!" What an exciting way to encourage children, both boys and girls, to read. I briefly logged into the online game, but did not get much of a chance to play around yet. The winners of the first episode have been selected but readers can still join and try for subsequent episode prizes. My only complaint: the books include sets of cards that have unique ID numbers for use online. The numbers can only be used one time, so if you have multiple family members that want to play, each will need to get their own set of cards.

The Maze of Bones is the first book in the 10-book series. Each book in the series is written by a different author and includes a set of collectible game cards. A prominent figure from history is featured in each book, the first two books involving Benjamin Franklin and Mozart, respectively.

HUGE GIVEAWAY!!! To celebrate the release of the 3rd book in the series, Scholastic has kindly offered to giveaway (1) Scholastic 39 Clues Prize Pack to a Brimful Curiosities reader. The Prize Pack includes the first 3 books in the series, a 39 Clues Card Pack, and a 39 Clues t-shirt.

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section. • Contest is open to US only • Contest ends on Monday, March 9th, 2008 at 11:59 PM CST.• Winner will be chosen at random

Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4):1st extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.3rd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.

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Welcome to Brimful Curiosities, where every week is a children's book carnival! This review/giveaway is one of my contributions to the Book Giveaway Carnival, (March 2-8, 2009). Head over there for all the great giveaways this week! And don't forget to enter my other giveaways!

This is an easy one for me. I teach middle school reading and Peter Lerangis is the author of Book 3. He is my brother-in-law's (who sadly died suddenly in Oct), Peter is his cousin so we are "kind of" related! I am a follower and would love to have my own set since my kids buy them right and left when I hand out Scholastic book orders! Thanks for a great post and I do love your blog!

This series looks really cool. I learned that there will be 10 adrenaline-charged books, 355 trading cards, and an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes.

I loved the first book and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. It reminded me of The Da Vinci Code and National Treasure. I knew a little bit about Benjamin Franklin but I honestly had no clue about some of the things he invented (the armonica thing was really neat too).

You know what? I picked up The 39 Clues at Barnes & Noble on Sunday, thought it looked interesting, but put it back because my son wasn't with me and I didn't know if it would interest him. Now that I've looked at the 39 Clues website, I want to win this giveaway because these books interest ME! lol

From the site, I learned that there is also an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes. wow!

My nephew has the first book and would love this prize pack, including that T-shirt. He's got a birthday next month and asked for the other books. I'll have to see if he knows about the online game and contest.

I have a teenager (13) and I want her to read more. She writes very well and figures there is no need to read others books. I would like to win this for her. By the way it sounds, these books are a spy type book like Nancy Drew - just add a twist or two. lol Thanks.

Hi! Many thanks for introducing me to this amazing series. I have always loved Scholastic books! When I read about this series on their site, I learned that there are 10 books, 355 trading cards and an online game that you can play and win $100,000 in prizes. Many thanks for a delightful giveaway drawing!Cindijchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

The online game allow kids to participate in it. Kids visit the website - www.the39clues.com - and discover they are lost members of the Cahill family. What a great idea mix reading and the computer. Thank you for the giveaway.

Here is something I learned from the website: "The 39 Clues is Scholastic's groundbreaking new series, spanning 10 adrenaline-charged books, 355 trading cards, and an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes." How cool is that!

I didn't realize that this series was so interactive! I learned on the web site that the kids have cards they can collect and they can play online. I think my stepson would love it! I've tried to get him to enjoy reading, but so far no luck. He does collect Yu-gi-oh cards though, so maybe the card aspect and the online play will pique his interest.

I hadn't heard of this series before - I learned that its very adventure based and deals with Amy and Dan Cahill. Every book seems to have them chasing or being chased! Thanks for the chance! alicedemske at hotmail.com

I learned that every kid is a winner and that they are giving away prizes through all three ways... the books, the website and the cards. These books would be great for my son.luckofdraw777(at)gmail(dot)com

About Me

Brimful Curiosities is a mom blog/book blog featuring reviews and posts on children's books, music, educational products, toys and more. It's home to the weekly "Full to the Brim" Kid's Book Giveaway List. Occasionally it includes non-children related product and book reviews and personal postings.